


Early

by Dolimir



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-22
Updated: 2011-06-22
Packaged: 2017-10-20 15:44:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/214362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dolimir/pseuds/Dolimir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blair arrives home early.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Early

"Jim, come on, man! Open the door!" Blair kicked the bottom of the door several times with his left foot while trying to juggle the six plastic grocery bags hanging from his arms and the three paper ones he had clutched tightly his chest, all while trying to keep the duffel bag and backpack from slipping off his shoulders. "I'm losing all circulation in my arms."

The door started to open and he used his shoulder to shove through the doorway. "What? Were you napping?" he asked as he headed straight for the kitchen island, barely making it before the paper sacks slipped from his grasp.

"I swear we’re never eating out for dinner again." He grunted as he lifted his left arm and slipped the three plastic bags off, hissing in pain as the blood flowed back into his fingers and hand. "I'm tempted to even start packing our lunches from now on. After all, there's a perfectly good refrigerator in the break room."

With a little more grace, he slid the other bags off his right arm and headed toward his room. "But I realized we aren't always at the precinct at lunchtime, and God knows no one wants to deal with you going through another Wonder Burger withdrawal. I learned my lesson last summer, thank you very much. Man, that was ugly."

He dropped the duffel bag on his bed and tossed his backpack beside it. "Besides, we both know you’ll sneak behind my back for a value meal the moment I'm at the university. But I'm putting my foot down about dinner. Do you..." Blair stopped abruptly in his bedroom's doorway as he noticed the blond haired blue-eyed, stranger smiling at him from beside the kitchen island.

"I don't have any cash, man. I just spent it all on groceries."

The light blue eyes blinked in confusion, then the man grinned brilliantly at him. "You must be Blair. Jimmy said you were like the Energizer bunny on speed."

"I must be." Blair hesitated. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm at a loss."

The man reached out his hand, which Blair shook perfunctorily. "Peter. Peter Nelson. You know, the ex. I thought you weren't supposed to be back until this weekend."

"I...uh...decided to come home early," Blair said, not particularly liking to have to explain his presence in his own home to a stranger. He edged around the intruder and moved back into the kitchen and started unpacking the various bags. "The truck's outside, I thought Jim..."

"Oh, he ran down to the corner for Chinese." Peter chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the dining room table. "I guess you won't be able to enforce that 'no eating out' thing until tomorrow."

Blair opened the refrigerator door and paused for a moment before he started to put away the vegetables. "I guess not."

After silently watching Blair unpack the food for several minutes, Peter said, "Wow, awkward, huh?"

"No, not at all," Blair said, plastering a smile on his face. "I’m sorry. My mind is going in a hundred different directions at the moment. I'm normally a much better host."

"Don't worry about it."

The front door knob shook and Peter pushed himself off the table and opened the door to reveal a bag laden Jim. Peter leaned forward and Jim met him halfway, their lips brushing against each other's in a gentle kiss.

"Hope you're hungry," Jim said, a gentle smile on his face.

"Starved." Peter stepped out of his way. "Good thing you got a lot, though. The prodigal roommate returned while you were away."

Jim's face paled slightly. "Hey, Chief. You're home early."

"Yeah, Haller was called away for a personal emergency and the last day was just an excuse to hang out with old friends. I knew we still had the Anderson case open so I thought I better head home and see if I could help you out."

Jim moved into the kitchen and set his bags in the space Blair had just cleared. "I closed Anderson yesterday."

Blair swallowed hard and smiled weakly. "Congratulations, Jim. That had to have won you major brownie points with Simon."

"Yeah, it did. He gave me the rest of the week off." Jim gave him an apologetic smile.

Blair dropped his voice. "Do you need me to skedaddle? You know, wink, wink, nudge, nudge and all that?"

"That's not necessary, Chief. You just got home. Besides, I got dinner," Jim said in a voice that matched Blair's.

"Blair has declared that you can't eat out anymore, Jimmy," Peter said with a laugh as he came to a stop on the other side of the kitchen island.

Jim frowned at his guest, then turned and raised an eyebrow at his roommate.

"I'm a little burned on take-out at the moment." Blair shrugged. "But if you got Kung Pao Chicken I'll lift the moratorium for another day."

"Saved by a chicken." Jim laughed as he reached into the bag and pulled out a small box. "Oh, wait, I got chopsticks, too."

"Thanks." Blair accepted both items from Jim, then turned and headed back to his room.

"Where are you going, Chief?" Jim called out after him.

"I hope you two don't mind, but I need to get unpacked. And since you have the rest of the week off, I figure I can get a head start on the test I'm supposed to give next week. Janice will probably have a heart attack when she realizes she has more than two hours to make copies, but it's high time that woman started to relax." Blair smiled warmly at Jim, then disappeared into his room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Blair jumped as a gentle hand was laid on his shoulder, causing the laptop's screen to be filled with gibberish as his hands hit the keyboard.

"Sorry, Chief, but I did knock. Heck, I even called your name." While Jim's tone was apologetic, his eyes danced with mischief.

"No problem, man. I guess I was in a zone."

"You mean sentinels aren't the only ones to zone?"

Blair looked nervously past his friend toward the kitchen.

"He's gone," Jim said in response to his unasked question.

Blair smiled apologetically and nervously tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "Hey, how do you think I can recognize them so easily? Grad students excel in zoning."

Jim blinked in confusion for a moment, then nodded as he put the threads of their conversation together. "Can we talk?" he asked softly.

Blair swallowed, but plastered a smile on his face. "Sure. Of course. Do you want to go into the other room?"

Jim shook his head. "No, here's fine."

"Okay," Blair said so quietly he wasn't sure Jim heard him, sentinel or not.

Jim walked over to Blair's bed and sat on the edge, resting his forearms on his thighs and dangling his hands between his legs, never taking his gaze off his roommate. "I'm not sure where to begin," he finally confessed after a moment of silence.

Even though his heart was threatening to burst through his chest, Blair said, "Just blurt it out, Jim. We've never stood on ceremony."

"Before you left for your conference, I felt like we were...moving toward... something."

Blair just nodded, acknowledging the truth of the statement, but not wanting to interrupt Jim's train of thought with words.

"Peter showed up yesterday out of the blue. It was a surprise to see him, a nice reminder of how things were when they were good."

"You two had...have a lot in common," Blair said quietly. "Wasn't he a homicide detective?"

"Yeah, he was...is. He's considering moving back to Cascade and applying for Captain Milburn's vacancy."

"Really? I...that is...You make a great looking couple," Blair admitted.

"Yeah, I suppose we do...did."

"He wants to start up where you two left off?" Blair asked, suddenly understanding where the conversation was headed.

Jim dropped his gaze to the floor, looking miserable.

"It's not very often people get a second chance at love, Jim. You'd be a fool to dismiss the offer out of hand."

The sentinel's eyes snapped back to Blair's face.

"Besides we...we...all know what a flake I can be, Jim. N-nothing has happened between us and we can't be sure that any-anything ever will and you know how I am with long-term relationships. Maybe...maybe..."

Jim rose slowly to his feet, closed the distance between them, and ran his hand over Blair's, gently but firmly making his guide loosen the death grip he had on the back of his chair. "You've been with me for three years, Chief. I think you do commitment just fine."

"It's not the same and we both know it," Blair said quietly, refusing to make eye contact.

"Oh?"

"You don't trust me with your heart, Jim." Blair hurried on as Jim opened his mouth to protest. "Don't get me wrong, you trust me to watch your back, to guide you with your senses, but it's not quite the same thing."

"I trust you."

"Then why don't you wear your earring anymore?"

"What?" Jim blinked in confusion.

Blair withdrew his hand from Jim's and stood, walking a few feet away before turning to face his partner. "Why don't you wear your earring anymore?"

"Because I'm a detective now."

"Henri's a detective," Blair said, with a gentle smile. "I can concede, maybe, your not wanting to wear one on the job. But even Simon occasionally wears an earring on the weekend."

"Are you going somewhere with this, Chief?"

"When did you get your ear pierced, Jim?"

Jim blinked in confusion. "After I came back to Cascade."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to."

"So it would be safe to say that at the time you did it you were expressing your individuality, right?"

"I suppose."

"I mean, you weren't living under your father's thumb anymore and you were no longer a Ranger. If you wanted to do something wild and crazy, you could. Right?"

"Yeah, sure. Of course."

"And if you wanted to date a homicide detective, you would, right?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't I know *that* Jim?"

"I..."

"Don't trust me with him. Don't want him in the dissertation. Don't want him analyzed. Pick one or all of the above."

"Chief," Jim whispered.

"I don't think your submerging him was a conscious decision on your part, Jim. I mean, once Peter left, you had to be feeling pretty lonely. My guess is that you decided you wanted what everyone else had -- and that meant conforming. So you married Carolyn and straightened out your act. After Carolyn was gone you just kept toeing the line, kept doing what everyone expected."

Jim plopped down on Blair's bed as if suddenly exhausted.

Blair closed the distance between them, squatted in front of his friend and took one of Jim's hand in both of his. "You were able to share *that* Jim with Peter before, my friend. Don't walk away from this chance to be *you* again."

"And if I want to be that Jim with you?"

"You can. I'll accept you for whoever you are. You know that," Blair said earnestly.

Jim studied Blair's face for several moments before he spoke. "That Jim had a reputation for going after what he wanted, consequences be damned."

Blair chuckled. "So, he's not a whole lot different than the Jim I know."

"He took a lot more risks."

Blair grinned wickedly. "More risks than you? I seriously doubt that."

"More personal risks," Jim clarified. "If he saw something he wanted, he went after it -- no holds barred."

"Well, there you go." Blair straightened into a standing position, ignoring his popping joints, still keeping a light grip around Jim's hand.

"So, you're saying you wouldn't be opposed to seeing that Jim in action?"

Blair chuckled. "We're starting to make you sound slightly schizophrenic, but that's correct -- I wouldn't mind seeing him because ultimately he *is* you."

"Remember," Jim whispered, "you started it."

"Started what?" Blair asked, shaking his head in confusion. His eyes widened as Jim firmly pulled one of his hand downward, causing him to step closer.

Once Blair's knuckles were touching the mattress, Jim reached up with his other hand and ran it under Blair's curls, gently pulling his partner's head further downward.

"Hi, Blair," Jim whispered against his lips. "My name's Jim."

When Blair opened his mouth to respond, Jim kissed him, his tongue slipping past Blair's lips and deep into his mouth. Blair moaned softly. Embarrassed, he tried to take a step back, but Jim refused to let their connection be broken. Using the hand which had been holding Blair's to the mattress, Jim grasped the front of Blair's shirt and slowly laid back on the bed, making Blair place his knees on either side of Jim's hips as he knelt over him.

Blair's hair swung downward, framing Jim's head, creating a space where only they existed. Panting heavily, he looked down into the light blue eyes looking back up at him. "So you're saying that..."

"I do trust you with this part of me," Jim said, nibbling on Blair's chin and neck.

Blair moaned as Jim teased his Adam's apple. "And Peter?"

"Who?"

Blair chuckled. "My thoughts exactly."

Jim's hands lightly scratched up and down over Blair's ribs, his fingers probing teasingly under the waistband of Blair's jeans.

Blair closed his eyes as Jim's hands explored his body, shivering with foreign emotions. "What if I can't --"

"You can," Jim said, cutting him off. "This is new and you're scared, but when I'm working for something I want, I can be incredibly patient."

Blair lowered his forehead until it was resting against Jim's. "Who are you again?" He grinned lazily, content in their safe haven.

"I'm the man you came home early for, the man you'll always come home to," Jim said softly, peppering Blair's face with soft kisses.

Blair hummed happily. "Works for me."

Jim kissed him deeply, showing Blair how good they could be together. When they were once again breathless, Jim reached up and gently unhooked one of the earrings in Blair's ear and threaded it through the hole in his own ear. Looking up into the love-dazed eyes, he said softly, "Because it's not very often people get a second chance at love, and I'm anything but a fool."


End file.
